Kindness Reborn
by Lei Xang
Summary: Kagome's having a tough time balancing her life... and now there's her foster-sister of many years involved. Jin has returned after her mother has run off. And this girl's determination too protect Kagome has change the fate of The feudal era itself. (Mal
1. A series of events

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anything of the sort.

AN: I'm having a Gundam Wing block, and my muse has moved over to my inuyasha idea XD;;; More at the end…

Kindness reborn  
Chapter one

"It's only for a little bit, Inuyasha, I need a break." She sat at the corner of the hut. The half demon had his head in his arms, looking like a boy who'd been reprimanded. There was a small furrow in his brow.

"Fine… since we don't really need you much now anyhow." Kagome half smiled at that. She didn't know why, but Inuyasha had been really quiet lately. She missed the old him…

"Come back quickly now, okay Kagome?" Shippo smiled up at her, and she grinned back.

"Alright Shippo!" She picked him up along with her bag, smiling as she went. "How about you see me to the well?"

"Wouldn't miss it!"

Inuyasha's eyes trailed over to the smiling duo and stood up. The sun shone into his eyes as they stepped into the sunlight. "I guess I'll escort you… in case, you know… some demons decided to attack…"

Kagome smiled over her shoulder… it felt good to have Inuyasha responding as his old self.

* * *

The morning shone bright… too bright. Jin sat up and closed her blinds. The alarm clock went off…

"Damnit." She hit it, hard. "another day of work…" She was naked, as she couldn't afford much more than she needed to get her by. Every since her mother ran off. Her father had died a long time ago.

She skipped breakfast, as usual, and headed out the door. As soon as she turned, Jin came face to face with a couple of cops.

"Are you Jin Yazaki?" the taller of the two asked. She sighed, and turned again to go back in.

"I'll get my stuff… Man you guys are slow."

It was a twenty minute drive to the police station, and then another thirty before they spoke to her again.

"You're going back to your previous placement… the Higurashi household." Her eyes lit up, her heart beat a little faster, and a smile tugged at her lips, but a thought put her back where she was.

"You ain't just pulling my leg?" she eyed the officer cautiously, hope spreading through her, so much she was afraid he would change his mind. The officer simply gave her a 'who-do-you-think-I-am?' look and walked away.

"I wonder what they'll think of me…" she looked at herself, a pack that contained all of her belongings and money, in rags a civilized person would hardly ever think to wear. "I haven't seen them for so long…"

A stroke of fate…

* * *

"I'm back!" Kagome stretched heartily at her door. She entered what appeared to be an empty house.

"Have they gone shopping?" She poked her head in the kitchen, "hello?" in the living room, "is anyone home?" and even in the storage room, "Mom? Grandpa? Souta?"

"We're upstairs Kagome!" She followed her mother's voice, heading into the guestroom, which was being dusted and cleaned.

"Oh? Are we having visitors? Who's coming?" Kagome squatted by her mother, who was trying to reach under the bed.

Her mother smiled at her. "It's a surprise." The door bell rang. "Oh, that must be her, Kagome, could you get the door? I'll be down shortly."

"Oh I got it!" Sota jumped past her, obviously excited. Kagome stood there a moment before realizing she might like the visitor too…

"Oh no you don't! Sota! Wait for me!" Brother and sister raced down the stairs but Sota eventually beat her to the door. He opened it with Kagome waiting, but as soon as he saw who was behind it, he suddenly became shy and quiet.

Kagome looked up at the young woman standing at the door, with a police officer on at her side. She held a small, battered backpack, and her clothes were torn at the knee and edges. The face was oddly familiar…

"K- Kagome?" The voice was definitely different, but the dumbstruck face resembled someone she hardly knew…

"Jin!" She ran to hug the young woman, nearly knocking her over in the process. "I haven't seen you in so long, you're so thin! Have you been eating properly? Come inside, it's cooler in here."

Within minutes, they were all seated on the couch, including Mrs. Higurashi and Grandpa. Kagome was gripping her foster sister, smiling as they caught up on the last ten years. Sota sat beside Kagome, looking nervous.

The officer stood up, looking much more pleasant than earlier, Jin noted. He cleared his throat, attracting Kagome and Sota's attention to him.

"Jin is going to be moving in with you again, as her mother is… nowhere to be found." Kagome pulled away slightly, looking at the older girls as if asking her silently if it was true.

"She disappeared almost three months ago, leaving her daughter to herself." Mrs. Higurashi mumbled something that sounded oddly like a curse under her breath. Well, it wasn't pleasant, that was for sure.

"I hope this doesn't affect your lifestyle in anyway." It suddenly dawned on her. Was she going to tell Jin about the feudal era as well? It seemed like the right thing to do, although it would be terribly awkward…

"Oh no, not at all." Her mother said before she could even open her mouth, although she has nothing to say. "We'll be very happy to take her in again."

"Very good… I suppose I'll leave you to it then." The officer bowed a little to the family and Kagome's mother walked him to the door. Grandpa stood up and smiled at Jin.

"We've prepared the guestroom for you. If you want to take your things up there and get comfortable. It's the second room to the right."

Jin stood up and bowed politely to her foster Grandfather. "Thank you sir. I'll be alright by myself."

Kagome's grandpa chuckled. "Please, call me grandpa. Kagome's demon friend already is…"

"What?" Jin looked over at Kagome, who was looking quite exasperated at her elder. She caught her foster sister's eye, and immediately came up with an excuse.

"Oh no, he means my friend… Grandpa doesn't take to kindly of him and… you know how he is. Obsessed with demons and spirits…" That didn't sound to bad. Jin smiled at her, a little skeptical but shrugged it off. She excused herself again and went off to drop her stuff off.

"Kagome." He said in such a stern voice that it made her jump. "You're going to have to tell her, and soon. If I know Inuyasha, he won't let you stay for long."

"I know Grandpa, I'm trying to figure out how to tell her… but it's just too awkward right now. I have three days… we'll figure it out by then, I'm sure."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

Three days passed quickly. Kagome had been dreading this. She hadn't told Jin about Inuyasha and the feudal era yet… Night had come and she was having her usual nightly chat with her foster sister in her room. Kagome suddenly sensed a demon outside… actually, more of a half demon. She was going to be in so much trouble.

"Umm… I'd hate to ask this but do you mind getting me a glass of water? I'm trying to finish off this page of math…."

"Of course, I'll be a minute." Jin stood up and walked out of the room. The second the door closed, she opened her window for Inuyasha to come in.

"Who was that?"

"My sister, Jin."

"You have a sister?" Inuyasha certainly didn't waste anytime. "But to more important things, you're late."

"Inuyasha I can't go right now, she doesn't know about you. She'll freak out if she comes back and finds out I'm gone. What is my family supposed to do?"

"You should of thought of that earlier. Come on, there's a demon on the other side."

"Wait-"

Before she could say anything else, Inuyasha scooped her up and jumped out the window.

* * *

Jin was staring out the kitchen window as her foster mother poured the drinks.

"I really could've gotten it."

"No, no it's fine."

She didn't argue. If Jin remembered anything from her stay here before, it was that this woman was stubborn. There was a clatter upstairs, and Kagome's voice just barely made it through the floor.

"What was that?"

"Oh no…" Jin looked at the woman, who was staring at the ceiling in disdain. "I told her we shouldn't' have left it so long…

"What? What is going on Mrs. Higurashi?" A red streak passed by the window. Jin turned, alarmed. "Was that Kagome… _being carried off?_"

Before anyone could answer, Jin was out the door, chasing after the red streak with his struggling bundle. She never heard when Mrs. Higurashi screamed at her to stop. She could only se her the girl that had been so kind to her, struggling in a kidnapper's arms.

* * *

"Why are you struggling so much?" Inuyasha hissed at his 'bundle' as he ran.

"You know why! Why are you being so stubborn?" Kagome managed to get herself free, making Inuyasha stop to grab her wrist. Then, the half-demon's nose caught scent of another human, coming towards them, fast.

"Come on." He tugged at her and made her follow him. Kagome saw Jin and reached out, her words, which were warning her sister to stop, was snatched away as Inuyasha pulled her.

"We'll return and grab your stuff after the battle." They ran down the steps of the well and Inuyasha placed as squirming Kagome on the edges.

"Stop!" A woman shouted as she stood at the top of the stairs. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha turned, momentarily forgetting Kagome's unstable position and letting go. There was a yelp as she fell.

"Kagome!" Jin ran down the steps, just as Inuyasha realized what he had done.

"My bad!" He yelled as the two of them, Jin and himself, both jumped down at the same time.

To Jin, everything was a rescue mission, and she started worrying… what if Kagome bumped her head? What was the damage? But suddenly, a glowing aura of some sort formed around Kagome, spreading across her body until she was swallowing in it.

Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest, her eyes widened. Where had Kagome gone?

Inuyasha was thinking of this strange girl's reaction when the well let him through but not her. Her panic, her furious digging before Kagome's family finally came out to calm her. It was too amusing to be ignored.

The glow began to form, and Jin realized she wasn't going to get through by herself. It was letting this strange boy through though…. Maybe… if she just…

Her hand reached out and grabbed onto the boys shirt, pulling herself closer. The purple aura crawled from him to her. It was working.

Then there was pain, white hot pain. Bursting from every limb, every square inch from her body. For a moment she though her spirit was being sucked right out of her, but it stopped, the spirit thing, that is. But it still felt as if every particle in her body was trying to run away, try to break apart. Her nerves were flaming…

And then there was darkness.

* * *

And there we go, the first chapter of Kindness Reborn. This is an idea that's been lolling around my head since… umm… May? I don't remember. But anyways, you've met Jin, The foster sister of Kagome and Sota. Her father is dead and her mom… isn't capable of taking care of a child.

You also know that she has been part of the Higurashi household before, ten years ago (this takes place when Kagome's 16…) and that there is something going on with Inuyasha. Also, there's a problem with Jin's crossing over. Oooh what a great place to end a chapter… isn't it? Ha ha I'm just playing…

And yest, my muse is concentrating on my original and my Inuyasha fic instead of my Gundam Wing one right now, so for anyone who's following that, sorry TT;;; I'll try to get back to that as soon as possible.

I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter! See you next time!


	2. What was not meant to be

Kindness Reborn  
Chapter two

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken poked his head through the door to see his master sitting on the ground, crossed legged.

"What is it, Jaken?" He panicked, for a moment, but then remembered that this was serious business, and he'd be beaten if it weren't completed…

"Rin has fallen ill, my lord." He bowed until he was practically on the ground, whimpering.

"Then tend to her." Typical.

"It is a strange sickness, she cannot seem to move."

"Then contact a doctor, or a priestess, and be quick with it."

"Yes my lord…" He slowly backed away, towards the door and the girl that lay in her bed, hardly breathing. "I don't believe you understand the seriousness of this."

* * *

"What the hell do you think you're doing- eh?" Inuyasha stared at Jin's wrist as it flashed. For a moment, he thought he could see right through it… "Oh shit."

"Inuyasha! Jin!" Kagome turned and crouched, picking up the older woman who was looking a little more than just pale. "She's not moving!"

"Shit we don't have time for this!" Inuyasha picked both girls up and jumped out of the well, heading for the village. They ran down the slopes and passed Jin off to Keade, who was sitting patiently in her hut.

She took Jin in and cared for her, but Inuyasha had come and gone before she could ask questions. Kagome was moved onto Inuyasha's back, with a bit of uncomfortable climbing.

"So what was so important that I had to be back right away?" Kagome asked the half demon.

"Regenerating demon, with shards, apparently. We haven't go a clue where to strike him." Kagome sighed and watched the trees go by faster than she could recognize them for what they were. The wind was starting to make her eyes water, and Inuyasha's hair was tickling her nose.

They finally arrived within five minutes, Kagome could feel the shards. It was a enormous demon… and round.

"They're in his stomach!"

"Kagome!"

"He probably ate them!"

Sango passed her a set of arrows and she picked a bow out of a dead man's hands. It was a battle field, ridden with corpses. Inuyasha pulled out his Tetsusaiga and began to hack away at the creature's belly.

"Inuyasha, look out!" Kagome strung an arrow and shot it at the gluttonous demon. It bore through his stomach, the bloody flesh oozed down it's belly. The arrow's power hardly got through the thick skin when the demon's abilities allowed him to regenerate the skin tissue , and the head was buried under his skin.

The power, however, was not completely worn out, and began to spread through him, weakening the flesh. When it finally did give way, Inuyasha was allowed the chance to tear through the tissue and out the back.

Sango threw her Hiraikotsu throw the hole and knocked out the jewel shards. Inuyasha went back for another attack but Kagome managed to grab hold of his sleeve.

"The others can take care of it now, we have to go back." Her eyes were glaring at him as if accusing him of a foul deed. "_Now_."

"Alright…" He looked at the half-melted demon, his claws itching to tear at the flesh some more, but he knew Kagome was right. "Sango, Miroku, Kirara, finish him off, Kagome and I will meet you back at the village."

They were curious but they didn't ask. Shippo scampered across the ground and jumped onto Kagome. "Can I come to?"

"Yeah… come on Inuyasha, hurry!" She hopped on the half demon's back and soon enough, they were on their way to where they began…

"I'd rather not have to repeat myself; can we please just concentrate on getting her better?" Kagome was anxious to see her foster sister healthy again. She had been through so much already…

* * *

"Alright… Kagome, I do believe that the cause of Jin's situation is the fact that she was never supposed to pass through the well in the first place. Her body was not fated to jump times, and this has weakened her considerably…"

"To the point of not being able to hold her own molecules together…" Kagome muttered under her breath as she held her sister's fading hand. "There must be something I can do… should we try and bring her back through the well?"

"Molecules? And no." Keade stopped, hesitating. "That could be catastrophic; it can make her fall apart, literally. No… what you must do is lend her your priestess energy."

Kagome stared at the older woman, confused. "What do you mean, 'lend her my priestess energy'?"

Keade moved closer, placing Kagome's hand on Jin's chest, between her breasts. "I mean that as a powerful priestess, there's a possibility you can give some of your excess energy to Jin to stabilize her. It's never been done, but I have a hunch it will work…

"But remember to conserve your energy for yourself, or else you may just temporarily switch places."

Kagome sat there, staring down at the pale, thin form of Jin. She then looked to Inuyasha, half wanting to blame him for this situation. But no, it wasn't his fault, it wasn't anyone's… at least, anyone but her.

"Okay… What do I do?" Keade grabbed Jin's hand and removed it from hers, then she placed Kagome's right hand on Jin's chest once again.

"Concentrate, child, on what you want. A clear focus on your objective…"

Inuyasha stared as Kagome began to meditate. Suddenly, he could see a bluish aura emanating from Kagome, yet he didn't see anything on Jin. They looked so similar… only Kagome's face looked more youthful.

And Jin's scent was oddly familiar.

He didn't have much time to dwell on that as Kagome suddenly fell on top of Jin, breathing heavily.

"Kagome!" He made it to his knees to support her, and pulled her on top him instead of the sick girl. She slowly opened her eyes, and took only the time needed to make sense of her position and the situation before blushing and rolling off him.

She crawled over to Jin and collapsed right beside her, so she could see her sister. "Jin? Can you hear me?" Jin's eyebrows furrowed, and she began to move.

"Kag- Kagome…" Her eyes opened, slowly, and she turned her head to look at the younger girl. "What… happened?"

"Hush… just rest…" And with that, they both fell asleep.

* * *

"So in your time, there are organizations that help the needy?" Miroku asked. Kagome nodded from her place on the ground, beside Jin.

"Her… Her father died years ago, and when she was seven, her mother was put into rehab; a place that helps you fix your problems like drinking and depression." The others listened carefully at the culture of the future.

"Jin was sent to live with my family and I until her mother was set free. We took care of her for about a year before her mother was released. Jin was returned to her family… and that was the last time I saw her until a couple of days ago."

"Really…" Sango took a sip of her tea, thinking about everything she had heard. "Your world is such a different place… so many supporting people. They aren't pitted against each other like we are…"

"Not necessarily, there are still wars and fights that resembles this time, but the government tries to control that to a bare minimum." Kagome sighed. "I wonder if I can sit up yet…"

"Don't strain yourself, child." Keade walked in and sat by her head. She placed two fingers at each shoulder and slowly helped Kagome up. "I though I warned you about giving too much energy?"

"I wasn't sure how much was too much…" Kagome sighed, smiling a little guiltily. And then she sighed and looked over at Jin, Who was still sleeping peacefully, "and as long as she's okay…"

"I suppose…" Keade began, pausing to think, "but your energy will soon be used up, and it will have to be restored. If you were to lose so much energy that you couldn't regenerate it in time, your lives would be in danger."

"Okay… I'll try not to do it again next time." Kagome smiled as she moved towards the wall. Inuyasha did her a favor by picking her up and placing her there for her. "Now, I have a question… when do you think we can return her to my time?"

There was an unnerving silence as all eyes were turned to Keade. The old woman, in turn, stared directly at Kagome.

"You can't."

"What?"

"You can not return your sister to your time. Not only is her body not able to keep itself together by while time traveling, but her arrival has altered the course of time. Our world is most likely changing itself to accommodate this means… that if your sister was reincarnated from anyone in this time, one of them will have to die."

"That's… horrible…" Kagome stared long and hard at Jin. _I am so sorry…_

* * *

"Can you walk?" Shippo stood in front of Kagome as she made her way out of the door. It had only been hours, but a bite to eat and some simple exercises was more than enough to get her energy back.

"Yes Shippo, I'll be fine." She smiled and strode around the hut to prove her point. "See? Healthy as a horse. I am, however, worried about Jin. It doesn't look like she'll be walking up…"

"No," Keade stepped out of the hut and stood behind Kagome, "I doubt her body wants to waste any more energy than it can help. She'll be making little activity until we can find a continuous source of energy for her."

Inuyasha walked out and leaned against the hut, across from Keade. Kagome stood there, wondering why he'd been so quiet, and if she should say anything.

Before she could open her mouth, the Tetsusaiga began to throb. Inuyasha's eyes flew open, and Sango and Miroku were called out. Inuyasha pulled it out of its sheath, and stared at it.

"What the hell…? It… it wants me to go… that way?" His arm seemed to hover towards the forest, as if the Tetsusaiga was controlling it.

"This has never happened before…" Sango inspected the Tetsusaigacurious at it's behaviour.

"No time to ponder, we have to go." Kirara transformed into her wildcat mode, letting Sango and Miroku Climb onto her back. "Kagome… are you coming?" Miroku motioned towards the hut, where Jin lay.

"Yea… nothing to do here but worry…" She smiled and tried to look confident in her sister's health, but she even knew she wasn't fooling anyone…

* * *

Yes, another chapter, because I felt bad for leaving you on a cliffhangar and I'm gonna be addicted to a game for the next few days so yea… :D I hope you enjoyed chapter two of Kindness Reborn!! 


	3. Pride

Kindness Reborn  
Chapter Three

Sesshomaru staved off the demon, wondering where the hell it had come from, or why. Jaken was trying to scurry around the thing… he seemed to be in a panic.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" His high voice cried over the noise of the battle. Sesshomaru ignored him, his mind a little occupied by the girl not too far away.

Suddenly the demon stopped moving, and something glowed in his back. Sesshomaru stood there, watching curiously as the creature grew, unfazed. It must've been the work of a jewel shard; that could make things a little more interesting.

But he sensed something was wrong when the demon doubled, than tripled his original state, his growth never ceasing.

"The shards were composed of five others!" Jaken cried. At least, that was what he heard. And there were more than one… he had to finish this off before it got out of hand.

Sesshomaru unsheathed his sword, raising it over his head to kill the now obese creature. As he swung it down, a large barrier appeared, deflecting his hit.

Tokijin flew out of his hand, surprising the Lord.

The demon thrashed about, looking for an escape. It finally ran off, flattening the forest around him. Jaken scurried around it's feet and picked up the Tokijin, returning it to his master.

"Aren't you going to go after the demon, my lord?" He asked, eagerly.

"I'll take my time." The dog demon took his sword and began to walk, thinking over the events of the past few minutes and wondering how he could break through the barrier.

Then the smell of human blood filled his scent.

Rin's blood.

* * *

"This way!" Inuyasha called to the others. Kagome was on his back again and he could feel her anxiousness to get back to her sister. He had to hurry.

Blood filled the air, and they made it to a clearing which seemed to have been made through a struggle. Hundreds of broken trees created a pathway to what could be the battle scene. And Sesshomaru's scent, mixed along with everything else.

He tensed, sniffing the air. He could smell human blood, and lots of it.

"Where next, Inuyasha?" Sango's voice broke the silence.

"Down there. I smell Sesshomaru as well."

"Funny, it's usually Sesshomaru that finds us, isn't it?" Miroku remarked as Kirara approach him. Inuyasha brooded at his half brother's name, but he continued anyways.

Kagome gasped at the scene in front of them. They had walked into a battle between Sesshomaru and a gigantesque demon. More precisely; Sesshomaru and the barrier surrounding the demon.

"Heh, it doesn't matter how strong Tokijin is," Inuyasha unsheathed his sword, the Tetsusaiga glowing a deep red, "it still can't beat good old Tetsusaiga!"

Inuyasha broke through the barrier with only a slight resistance, but leaped back when it dissolved. The smell of blood could be detected, even without demon powers. The scent overwhelmed Kagome, making her gag, her knees buckling.

Sango and Kirara attacked the demon, and a moment later Inuyasha joined them. In her weakened state, Kagome's stomach began to turn over. She could feel herself going green.

The demon soon fell, the others having managed to hit the shards by chance while she was hunched over. She didn't get to see what happened, but more blood spilled onto the ground and she was sure she was going to be sick soon.

"Kagome!" Miroku helped her sit down and fanned her off. Inuyasha and Sango soon joined them.

"Sorry." She smiled weakly. Kagome could feel herself recovering slightly. "I guess I was rushing myself."

"The smell of blood must be bothering you." Sango bent over her, worried. She took off her mask and tied it around Kagome's face. The air felt a bit better through it, and the teenager took only another moment to recover.

Sango helped her up. Kagome surveyed the scene before her, the forest was full of blood…

… and standing over the small lump of flesh was Sesshomaru, half-sheathing one of his swords. He seemed to be frozen on the spot.

"Get the jewel shards Kagome." Inuyasha ordered. Kagome was about to give him a piece of her mind when she noticed he was staring at his brother, hard.

"Alright."

Inuyasha walked over to Sesshomaru.

"Couldn't protect her. And now you can't revive her." His older brother didn't move. He figured it was because of shame.

There was a moment of silence between them. It felt strange, to be standing beside Sesshomaru and not be trying to defend his life. Finally, Sesshomaru's head dropped and he threw one of his swords to the ground.

The Tensaiga.

"Her soul… it's gone. The sword is worthless."

Kagome came over as Sesshomaru walked away. She gasped softly upon seeing the shattered body.

"Inuyasha… is… is that…?"

"His ward."

Kagome stood stock still for a minute until she bent down and picked up the Tensaiga. She began to walk over to Sesshomaru, with Inuyasha close behind.

"Se- Lord Sesshomaru." She bowed and placed the sword behind the dog demon as he paused. Inuyasha unsheathed Tetsusaiga, not trusting his brother. "It may help if you stayed to bury her with us."

Inuyasha could feel his heart pounding, waiting for his brother's next actions. Sesshomaru turned, slowly, and walked forward to where the Tensaiga lay, an arm's length from Kagome.

"Worthless bitch." His one arm came out to choke Kagome, but Sesshomaru was unusually slow that day.

"Hands off!" Inuyasha shot a Wind Scar at him. Sesshomaru stopped and closed his eyes as the attack enveloped his body.

The Tensaiga and he both disappeared.

"Inu- Inuyasha." Kagome tipped a little, and finally fell. She was unconscious by the time Inuyasha caught her.

"Kagome!" Miroku and Sango both hurried towards them, crouching to inspect the girl.

"She fainted." Inuyasha picked her up and brought her to Kirara. "Let's bury Sesshomaru's ward and be gone."

* * *

"Lady Kagome!" Keade rushed over to Kirara to help heft Kagome off the cat's back. Torches crackled in the night atmosphere.

"_Lady_ Kagome?" The group stopped as an unfamiliar voice drifted from the hut. Inuyasha walked in first, looking around for the stranger.

He found Jin against the hut wall, staring at him. "What am I missing here?" She asked him. Her eyes found Kagome's body and she struggled to sit up.

"Careful, child, you are still not fully recovered." Keade walked in behind Inuyasha, preparing a place beside Jin for the younger of the two sisters. Miroku and Sango followed with Kagome.

"What happened to her?" Jin reached out to touch the younger girl, stroking her soft face and brushing away some hair. "Rest her on my lap." The monk and demon slayer complied.

"The scent of blood seems to have been too much for Kagome's already weakened state." Miroku explained, sitting down crossed legged. Keade tended to the young girl and told the others to help themselves to some soup.

"Where is Shippo?" Sango asked Keade.

"Out finding some firewood."

Jin sat there, slack-jawed at their casualty. One of them had fainted! "Aren't you worried about her?" She exploded, feeling a lot of her energy drain with it.

The group all stared at her, then at the girl in her lap.

"Hell no." Inuyasha huffed and turned around. A civilised-looking young woman tugged a strand of his hair in protest to his answer.

"Please excuse Inuyasha. Of course we're worried, Jin, but this is all we can do right now. We have to tend to ourselves as well so we can protect each other."

Jin stared at the older woman. This world was a lot different from home, and she was going to need a lot of answers once everything was sorted out.

The old priestess, who's name she'd learned to be Keade, put a reassuring hand on Jin's shoulder, "Child, ye need your rest, so please do relax. This goes for all of you. We should all go to bed once I've finished tending to Kagome. I have a feeling we are all going to need our energy tomorrow."

"You're right Lady Keade. I think I'll be sleeping outside tonight." The young monk cast a nervous glance at her and waved to them all. "Good night!"

After he left, the silver-haired boy, Inuyasha, huffed and walked out as well, heading the opposite way as the monk.

"Do they… always sleep outdoors?" Jin asked the two remaining strangers. The young woman nodded.

"I figure you have a million questions, Jin, but they will have to wait until tomorrow. Please try to relax." The young woman smiled gently. She then looked down at Kagome, her smile faded a little, and then she stood up.

"I'm going to go set up a place to sleep myself. Good night, Keade, Jin." She rolled out a futon, which looked quite a bit like the older ones being sold in stores now, and went somewhere, by the looks of the bundle in her arms she was about to change.

Keade sat with her, wiping off the beads of sweat from Kagome's forehead and slipping small sips of water into Kagome's mouth. Kagome never choked once.

"Child, please do rest." She would want to, and desperately needed to, but there were too many questions. How long had Kagome been travelling back and forth between their two worlds? Long enough to know these people and trust them with her unconscious body.

From the outside none of them seemed trustworthy. A young monk, with wards on his hand (she had to be stupid to miss those), a woman who acted much more civilised that she was dressed, a small demon child, and of course, the tough-looking half demon.

"If ye spend too much energy today, Jin, young Kagome here will have to donate more of her powers towards you. Ye know very well that she could not possibly hold enough energy to sustain the two of you as it is."

"I know." At least this woman seemed trustworthy… 'But then again,' Jin thought to herself, 'Sometimes you cannot trust your eyes or instincts.'

"At least try." Jin forced a smile at the old priestess and laid down, arranging her foster sister and herself so they could lie comfortably by one another. Today was quick and hectic, so she had to be sure to drag out the next day as long as humanely possible.

* * *

The ward, the little girl that had once followed his half brother all over the place… why did her face bother him so much today? Of course, it had be very much… well… maybe it was better off mentioned. But still, her face, in his mind, clean and untouched. It sparked a tingle in the back of his mind.

He knew, all too well, that his subconscious was telling him he was a moron, and was looking over a very important detail. He couldn't put his finger on it though…

And that girl! She was _irritating_! Everything about her bothered him. What gave _her_ any right to act so protectively towards Kagome? They had only really known each other for a year, from what he heard. And what did _they_ do that made their bond so special? At least _he_ and Kagome had travelled all over Japan, killed hundreds of demons, did that not automatically make _his_ relationship with her special? Didn't he have _automatic_ rights to protectiveness over Kagome?

But what if… what if Jin was… a _lily?_ In that case, Inuyasha had to get Jin away from Kagome _immediately_. There was no way Inuyasha was going to be beat by a girl, especially in that way.

And Inuyasha refused to acknowledge the fact that maybe, just maybe, he was pulling things out of nowhere and thinking of excuses to separate Kagome from her beloved foster sister. He spent the night in the trees, brooding and talking to himself. One moment his mind would be on the two sisters in the hut not too far away, the next he would be contemplating on how the ward's face seemed to taunt him.

What the hell was going on?

Hee hee.. torturing dear old Inuyasha. And yes, that "Lily" statement was actually inspired by a certain chapter in the manga, "Pretty Face" (awesome read, by the way!)

So yes, Rin was killed. I had to fight with myself about it, because I personally love Rin's character, and I could have fit her in, in many different places in this story, but it's very important in the story plot later on.

I hope you enjoyed, and sorry for ignoring this story lately ; My main focus right now is Reminiscent, so I'll only have sporadic updates here until I finish that story. Please understand!

And thanks so much for the reviews! I appreciate every comment. :smile:


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